Tuesday, February 16, 2010

If you are a soon-to-be bride, one of the questions you may be asking is "What are the popular wedding colors this year?

Believe it or not, the hot color for 2010 is turquoise! This color is eye-catching, bold and modern and is especially perfect for destination weddings at the beach! Now, there aren't any true "turquoise" colored flowers. But that doesn't mean you can't have that color for your wedding if your heart is set on it!

Turquoise is an intricate color that can lean in many different directions, from the true turquoise that we all know from southwest jewelry, to a more peacock blue-green, to aqua.

If you just must have a turquoise flower, there are excellent floral paints available to florists now, giving us many options for coloring blooms just the right shade. Done properly, they are subtle and beautiful.

Pulling the color in through accents such as ribbonsand wire is another option. Turquoise works wellwith certain greens; is beautiful with pinks, both hot pink and soft pink: and adds zing to browns. I love how this bride bucked tradition and went with turquoise shoes! And look how a turquoise wrap makes these sunflowers pop!

At Bloomers, we have lots of ideas for your wedding. Call us anytime for a FREE consultation!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Just when you are lamenting that your Valentine flowers will be gone soon, here is a trick to make them more then just a memory.

Waxing fresh flowers is a craft that dates back to the Victorian era. It’s quite easy and inexpensive to do, but takes a little practice; the most important part is getting the temperature just right for the types of flower that you are waxing. Almost any type of bloom can be waxed -so go ahead and experiment!

What you will need:

Fresh flowers

Paraffin wax

Double boiler

Wax or Parchment Paper

Empty vases or bottles for drying the flowers

How to:

Melt two blocks of paraffin wax in the top of a double boiler. Using a wax or candy thermometer to measure temperature, heat the wax to 150 degrees, and maintain temperature throughout the process. Too hot and you'll cook your blossoms!

Cut the flower stem to about two inches. Holding the flower by the stem, dip the flower head completely into the wax. Immediately lift it out, allowing excess wax to drip into pot. Let wax harden 30 seconds, then place blossom on its side on a parchment-lined tray to harden completely for about 5 minutes. For large multi-petal flowers such as a fully open rose, I prefer to place the stem into a bottle so that it can dry while upright.

Repeat the dipping process once more, allowing the wax to fully cool and harden between each step. Be sure to handle waxed flowers carefully to avoid cracking them. Use your waxed flowers to make beautiful arrangements or to decorate a basket or a wrapped gift.

I've found the best results with fresh flowers, rather than waiting until they are wilted.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Valentine's week is upon us. And with roses being the most popular floral gift by far, you may be the lucky recipient of a beautiful bouquet sometime soon. You'll enjoy them longer if you follow a few simple care steps.

First, it's important to note that no amount of care will revive blooms that were not properly handled before purchase. A good florist will follow the important "chain of life" for all their flowers, as well as purchasing from suppliers that follow it, too. This will assure your bouquet a long vase life.

Now that your flowers are in hand, what do you do with them? If you received cut flowers, they will need to be hydrated. To achieve this, simply prepare your clean vase with the package of preservative that arrived with your flowers. Then, using a clean, sharp knife, recut all the stems, preferably underwater. They're now ready to be placed in your vase. Using a knife rather than scissors keeps the stems from being crushed, which shortens their vase life.

Change the water ever few days, using more flower food if you have it.Old 'remedies' such as pennies, bleach, or lemon soda are not useful or recommended! Remember to recut the stems at this time, as well.

At some point, your roses or other blooms will be very short, but this is no reason to toss them out! Get creative and find interesting small containers to showcase your short beauties. This little metal birdsnest container holds just 3 blooms, but what impact!

If you would like to dry your roses on the stem, it's best to do that before they die off completely. Hang them heads-down in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight.

Once your Valentine flowers have moved past their prime, you'll no doubt want more, and Bloomers can help, whether a simple bunch of daisies, or an unusual arrangement of mixed beauties.If you enjoyed this post, you may be interested inlast week's entry, "Why Buy Valentine Flowers"

About Me

Hello! I'm Debra Graham, owner of Bloomers Floral Design and author of the Bee, (formerly the BloomersBlog)-random musings on all things floral. I'm a native New Englander, now transplanted here in North Carolina. Flowers have been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember, starting with pinching off the roses from my grandmother's bushes when I was little. (she would have preferred that I didn't, I'm sure!). I've lived in apartments with tiny porches, and houses with many acres, and the common denominator in all was flowers...flowers in pots, flowers in rows, flowers hanging from hooks. And always, fresh flower arrangements would be created out of whatever was available. Bloomers is an extension of that passion, and I pass it along in every design I create for my customer. The Bee is one more way to pass along my love of flowers to you!